Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Protection of Children's Health (Tobacco Smoke in Mechanically Propelled Vehicles) Bill 2012 is to prohibit smoking in cars where children are present. It will be enforced by the Garda Síochána.

The Bill stems from a growing range of legislative and other policy initiatives designed to reduce smoking and smoking related illness over previous decades. Some of the key legislative and policy initiatives to date have been the establishment in 1997 of the Quitline service to support smokers in giving up, the ban on tobacco sponsorship in 2000, the raising of the age limit to 18 years at which a person can be sold tobacco products, which was introduced in 2001, the introduction of the workplace smoking ban in 2004, the ban on the sale of cigarettes in packets of ten and the ban on confectionary which resembles tobacco products in 2007, the ban on the advertising and display of tobacco products in retail outlets in 2009, the introduction in 2009 of registration requirements for retailers wishing to sell tobacco products, the introduction of graphic warnings on cigarette packets in 2013, and the publication of Tobacco Free Ireland in October 2013.

The aim of Tobacco Free Ireland is to reduce the harm caused by tobacco use, a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025, to undertake a social marketing campaign focusing on the risks to children from exposure to second-hand smoke, with particular reference to smoking in cars, and to develop and introduce legislation prohibiting smoking in cars where children are present, based on international evidence and good practice.

Since the introduction of the workplace smoking ban in March 2004 and other tobacco control measures, there is a greater awareness of the risks of smoking and exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. It is recognised that smoking in cars exposes all the occupants to harmful second-hand smoke, SHS. Second-hand smoke is a carcinogen and contains the same cancer-causing substances and toxic agents that are inhaled by the smoker. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.

Exposure to cigarette smoke is particularly dangerous in enclosed spaces, such as cars, and parents and others with responsibility for the welfare of children have a particular responsibility to ensure such exposure does not take place. Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke is a recognised risk factor in the development of asthmatic symptoms In children, and increases the risk of other illnesses, such as pneumonia, bronchitis and middle ear infection.

A child is defined in the Bill as any person under the age of 18. It specifies that a person who smokes a tobacco product in a vehicle in which a child is present shall be guilty of an offence. This also applies in situations where the smoker is under the age of 18 years and is in the presence of another child. Where this offence is committed by someone who is not the driver, the driver shall also be guilty of an offence.

The Bill also contains defence provisions. A defence exists where the person smoking reasonably believed that the others present in the vehicle were over the age of 18. There are also defences for the driver. One defence is that the driver was unable to stop the other person from smoking because he or she did not wish to take any action which might compromise the safety of the passengers.

An Garda Síochána will have powers under this Bill. Where a member of the Garda believes that a person is smoking in a vehicle with a child present, he or she may ask the driver to stop the car and take the name and address of any person who may be committing an offence. Where a person fails to stop the car or to give his or her name and address or provides false information, he or she shall be guilty of an offence. A person who is guilty of an offence under the Bill shall be liable on summary conviction to a class D fine. A class D fine is currently a fine not exceeding €1,000. That means the person will be prosecuted in the District Court.

It is difficult to assess precisely how many children will be affected by the proposed measure, as this depends on the number of smokers who smoke in cars with children, and there are no precise data on this. The total number of licensed vehicles on 31 December 2013 was 2,482,557, of which 1,910,165 were private cars. While all these are potentially affected, clearly not all will be directly affected.

Census 2011 recorded 1,148,687 children at or under the age of 17 years. It also collected data on the commute to primary and secondary school. A total of 296,711 students aged between five and 12 years travelled to school by car in April 2011, accounting for 61% of all students within that age category. Primary school children who were driven to their place of education had an average journey time of 12 minutes in the towns and cities, and nine minutes in rural locations. At second level, of 126,172 students, approximately 40% travelled as car passenger, and an additional 6,339 pupils, or 2%, drove to school.

I commend the Minister, Deputy Reilly, on the Bill. I also thank Senators Crown, van Turnhout and Daly for their contribution towards the Bill. Just because I am a non-smoker does not mean I am anti-smoker. People themselves realise the amount of damage that smoking can do. I myself have experience of this as my father died at the age of 71 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

I commend the Bill to the House and I wish the Minister the best.

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